I know that's not the easy or convinient way for a lot of people that was promised, but if getting signed up today for a policy that won't begin for another 10 weeks at the earliest is a priority, it's entirely possible to do.

Amazon or ebay have a technical glitch for a few hours causing their systems to act erratic and people lose their shiat because of it...

the US Govt puts up a website for a program that is essentially mandatory for every US citizen, knowing full well that it doesn't work and they don't know when it will work and some people seem to think it's not a big deal...makes sense

In the short term, pushing that probably would have been a better plan. I'm surprised the Obama people didn't go for it. Hiring a bunch of contractors to do enrollment would have boosted job numbers. In the long term, a working website is a necessity.

Leaving out Spanish speakers hints of some adverse selection issues. I'd almost give a damn if the regular website worked.

I don't think it was intended to be a means to sign up for Medicaid. If you need to sign up for Medicaid, which is typically run by states anyway, do it the same way you always have.

As far as Spanish goes, I can see how that would be a problem if all you spoke was Spanish. They should fix that. At the same time, they should add all the world's other languages. Or are we ok with excluding those immigrants, as long as Spanish speakers are covered?

Yes please:I don't think it was intended to be a means to sign up for Medicaid. If you need to sign up for Medicaid, which is typically run by states anyway, do it the same way you always have.

As far as Spanish goes, I can see how that would be a problem if all you spoke was Spanish. They should fix that. At the same time, they should add all the world's other languages. Or are we ok with excluding those immigrants, as long as Spanish speakers are covered?

Yes please:As far as Spanish goes, I can see how that would be a problem if all you spoke was Spanish. They should fix that. At the same time, they should add all the world's other languages. Or are we ok with excluding those immigrants, as long as Spanish speakers are covered?

At the President's last speech on the issue, he said that there are translators available for 150 languages. Try again.

"You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking!" - Joe Biden, obama's choice for Vice President

"You're not a member of the Taliban, are you?" - Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense

While taking questions at an event at the University of Nebraska on Wednesday, Hagel asked an Indian man if he was a member of the Taliban before the man asked his question. The man, Robin Gandhi, is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska.

Yes please:I don't think it was intended to be a means to sign up for Medicaid. If you need to sign up for Medicaid, which is typically run by states anyway, do it the same way you always have.

The website was/is supposed to be able to direct you where you belong. Meaning you enter your income information and the site then figures out if you a. do qualify for medicaid or b. don't qualify for medicaid (and c. other outcomes like no medicaid but yes on subsidies). This is partly why implementation has been so difficult, because as you say states decide medicaid qualification, so you have different states with different rules, and one system trying to integrate them all.

chevydeuce:Amazon or ebay have a technical glitch for a few hours causing their systems to act erratic and people lose their shiat because of it...

the US Govt puts up a website for a program that is essentially mandatory for every US citizen, knowing full well that it doesn't work and they don't know when it will work and some people seem to think it's not a big deal...makes sense

Except signing up for health insurance is clearly not mandatory for all us citizens. You see, the vast majority of US citizens already have qualifying health insurance...and therefor do not need to sign up.

In the short term, pushing that probably would have been a better plan. I'm surprised the Obama people didn't go for it. Hiring a bunch of contractors to do enrollment would have boosted job numbers. In the long term, a working website is a necessity.

Leaving out Spanish speakers hints of some adverse selection issues. I'd almost give a damn if the regular website worked.

Oh I agree with you entirely. I'm just noting that I think a lot of people don't fully understand what the website does.

healthcare.gov will collect your information, verify it against records, calculate whatever subsidy you're eligibile for, and show you a list of plans in your area that you can purchase. Once you decide on a plan, it will send your subsidy information to the provider along with your selection and you'll be insured form the provider.

The alternate route is you browse providers on your own, like you do today, pick out the policy you want, then either call in or mail in your selection along with personal information, and some one will verify your subsidy amount, confirm it with you, and then pass along your information to the provider of your choice.

Or, if you know you don't qualify for a subsidy, you can just go buy a policy directly from a provider like you could before.

I mean, it's not easy and convinient, but it's a bit akin to being upset that Target.com is down and now you've got to go to a brick and mortor store to get what you want. It'll take you some more time, but the end result will be the same.

"We are very disheartened that the health care exchange website is not working well, and we will do whatever we can to get this working quickly, so all of the Americans out there without health care can log onto this system and find a good affordable plan this year."

Are people in Puerto Rico and other Spanish speaking territories required to sign up for the ACA? If yes, then the federal site should also display Spanish, and those territories should sue the fark out of the administration until it is corrected. If no, then keep it English-only.

Why is there even a limited enrollment time? If this is such a great thing why is enrollment limited to a certain time frame? USAA doesn't have a limited time frame. GEICO doesn't have a limited time frame.

Why have a limited time to sign up if it's so great? Does Ford have a limited time frame for me to buy an F-150???

"You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking!" - Joe Biden, obama's choice for Vice President

"You're not a member of the Taliban, are you?" - Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense

While taking questions at an event at the University of Nebraska on Wednesday, Hagel asked an Indian man if he was a member of the Taliban before the man asked his question. The man, Robin Gandhi, is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska.

Shouldn't this be kept for when Republicans do something especially racist? Why does this keep coming up in relation to ACA? I heard it on Hannity last night, what newsletter are these guys getting?

chevydeuce:Amazon or ebay have a technical glitch for a few hours causing their systems to act erratic and people lose their shiat because of it...

the US Govt puts up a website for a program that is essentially mandatory for every US citizen, knowing full well that it doesn't work and they don't know when it will work and some people seem to think it's not a big deal...makes sense

At most, it's mandatory for about 30% of citizens, which still ignores other signup mechanisms.

"We are very disheartened that the health care exchange website is not working well, and we will do whatever we can to get this working quickly, so all of the Americans out there without health care can log onto this system and find a good affordable plan this year."

"You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking!" - Joe Biden, obama's choice for Vice President

"You're not a member of the Taliban, are you?" - Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense

While taking questions at an event at the University of Nebraska on Wednesday, Hagel asked an Indian man if he was a member of the Taliban before the man asked his question. The man, Robin Gandhi, is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska.

It's always funny when right wingers/republicans claim to know better than the people who are actually the targets of gop rhetoric and legislation and then vote accordingly. Keep being clueless ;)